Insights from our Editorial Team

As many long-term readers of Newton-Evans' reports and articles knew from our assessment reported in 2009, there were back then three major contenders for the $7 billion transmission and distribution business units of the old Areva T&D Corporation.

Utility managers across the U.S. share a common challenge: Aging infrastructure, aging workforces and limited budgets continue to increase pressure on utilities to do more with less. Fortunately, advances in communications and sensor technology along with the capabilities of big data and analytics are creating new means to solve challenges once thought insurmountable.

In this latest bit of insight, we sit down with high-level executives and managers and get personal. We want to know how they got here, what they love about their jobs and how they see the industry evolving. For this installment of C-suite Insider, we spoke with Nebraska Public Power District's David Webb, who garnered his CIO title about five years ago. But, we'll let him tell his own story.

Big data is taking on an increased role at utilities both large and small. Harvesting reams of data that was previously unavailable just 18-24 months ago opens up great opportunities for both utilities and ratepayers.

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy moved in on the Jersey shore. Local and national crews rallied to restore power to over 2 million. Impressively, power companies managed to cut that number by almost half in just under a week. Two years later, utilities across north America continue to asked themselves 'Are we ready for the next time?'.

When Minnesota legislators passed the Next Generation Energy Act in 2007 (the "Act") - which in part limited utility transactions that would increase statewide power sector carbon dioxide emissions-it was intended as a stop-gap measure until something better and more comprehensive came along.

In the 1880s, soon after Fort Collins was established, the city's citizens and public officials became adamant about creating a system to provide the community with dependable water, sewer and power. The City of Fort Collins Utilities was born with power organized in 1887, a city sewer system underway in 1888 and five sewer districts formed by ordinance in 1891.

There's a hot, new scandal happening in the utility industry that you're going to want to avoid. Customers across the country are reporting utility imposters who try to forcefully clean out their bank accounts. Dangling the threat of shutting off gas and electric if immediate payment is not received, these scammers are posing as legitimate utility companies, making it difficult for customers to tell the difference.

As everyone knows, Asia has been rapidly industrializing since at least the year 2000. One of the limiting factors on this growth has been the availability of energy generation capability as the electrical power market has struggled to keep pace. To supplement the traditional energy sources from nuclear and coal, Asia Pacific countries are now increasingly adding renewable sources such as solar and wind.

E-Newsletters

Weekly interviews with industry leaders by the EnergyBiz magazine editor-in-chief, Martin Rosenberg. These interviews are conducted by telephone at conferences and in their offices. Delivered Each Monday